... Most movies are made in post, rather than in camera, and I would think that an aspect ratio larger than 16:9 would be an advantage in editing a final video, rather than a handicap. Wrong?

I am not sure that the presentation aspect ratio for moving pictures is not simply a fashion statement. I think that for most subjects, 4:3 is the easiest to frame in camera and the wider aspect ratios are more difficult. As far as original production goes, total resolution is the key and gives the most flexibility in post. I suspect that presentation aspect ratios will remain varied. Thanks to the smart phone, even portrait mode is now quite acceptable to many viewers.

Yeah, 4:3 is close to the Academy ratio (1.37:1) used to make most movies for decades. Put a 100mp 4:3 sensor in your camera and you'll get 8K+ output with plenty of spare pixels for cropping to your presentation aspect ratio of choice. No need to be a slave to 16:9.

Most movies are made in post, rather than in camera, and I would think that an aspect ratio larger than 16:9 would be an advantage in editing a final video, rather than a handicap. Wrong?

sensor real size -> cost... 4:3 was selected by Olympus & Panasonic for stills back in 43 dSLR times, not for video... why do you think companies (Arri, Red, etc) that are using big custom made sensors for movies are almost never using 4:3 sensors (Alexa Mini is a notable exception) ? think a little ...

the first time was for 43 dSLRs and dSLR market was already totally full of other vendors (C&N) by that time (first 43 dSLR from Olympus was in 2003 if you forget, and first 43 camera from Panasonic and their first 43 lens competing against Olympus too in addition to market full of C&N&Pentax&Sony now was in 2006 - https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicdmcl1)

- New FF mount, not reusing Leica SL mount.- New FF sensor designed by Panasonic.- Launch date March 2019.

Regards,

David

@ the link (FT4 rating) you posted nothing is about sensor

Quote

1) The new Panasonic FF will have a newly Panasonic designed mount. It will not use the Leica SL mount.2) The new camera will be announced as a prototype on September 25 but final version will start shipping out in March 2019

I agree with the "if anything, they'll move to 16:9" group. How wide a 16:9 sensor would fit in a FE mount? Since it's not as tall as a 24x36 mm sensor, it could be at least a bit wider (38 mm?). If it's a new mount, the sensor could be over 40 mm wide without requiring a very large mount or extra-large image circles...

sensor real size -> cost... 4:3 was selected by Olympus & Panasonic for stills back in 43 dSLR times, not for video... why do you think companies (Arri, Red, etc) that are using big custom made sensors for movies are almost never using 4:3 sensors (Alexa Mini is a notable exception) ? think a little ...

On the other hand, in filmmaking, anamorphic has made a strong comeback of late, and 4:3 is perfect for that. (That’s why some flavors of Alexa sport one.) So if this is a strongly video-focused effort...

- New FF mount, not reusing Leica SL mount.- New FF sensor designed by Panasonic.- Launch date March 2019.

Regards,

David

Good luck with a new mount...

They'll have to target a niche and focus on that. No way they can beat Canon/Sony/Nikon in the general market and lure people away to a new mount, without a preexisting reservoir of Panasonic full-frame lenses out there - not when the other three can offer everything from UWAs to superteles, as well as niche offerings including tilt-shifts, apodisation lenses and macros capable of greater than 1:1 magnification.

If Sony didn't get into the full-frame mirrorless game five years ahead of the others, they wouldn't have broken into the general market either. And if Canon didn't have such a weakness in high-resolution sensors at the time, Sony would have had a much tougher time initially. None of those factors are in play for Panasonic now.

I strongly suspect a video-centric camera - more of an "affordable RED" than a shot right at the A7rIII and the Z7 (assuming very high resolution). Unless the lenses were real Leicas (not Leica-branded Panasonics), what would convince anyone to choose Panasonic over either Sony's mature system or Nikon's ergonomics and F-mount compatibility?

Now, what it if it were capable of 4Kp120 and 1080p480 video? What if it had a codec running close to a gigabit per second (the GH5 is 400 megabits)? It would have to use XQD cards, but they can handle those speeds... That would be differentiating from anything else on the market. It might not be the best still camera around (although still quite credible), but it would be a better video camera than anything remotely near its price - shades of the early GH line before Sony and now Fuji came close.

I strongly suspect a video-centric camera - more of an "affordable RED" than a shot right at the A7rIII and the Z7 (assuming very high resolution). Unless the lenses were real Leicas (not Leica-branded Panasonics), what would convince anyone to choose Panasonic over either Sony's mature system or Nikon's ergonomics and F-mount compatibility?

Now, what it if it were capable of 4Kp120 and 1080p480 video? What if it had a codec running close to a gigabit per second (the GH5 is 400 megabits)? It would have to use XQD cards, but they can handle those speeds... That would be differentiating from anything else on the market. It might not be the best still camera around (although still quite credible), but it would be a better video camera than anything remotely near its price - shades of the early GH line before Sony and now Fuji came close.

The major trump card Panasonic will probably play is their very innovative global shutter sensor.